The Dragon Element
by Jennifred
Summary: Draco is learning more everyday, but one thing could change his entire life, the entire wizarding world...D/Hermione...Rated for later chapters. *Chapter 3 uploaded*
1. Nightmares and Potions

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, setting, etc., etc., it all belongs to the literary genius otherwise known as J.K. Rowling.  I think I own the plot, not quite sure, but don't steal! There's no point in suing either, since I'm flat broke.

A/N: Not much to say really…just thanks to my beta Jennifer (sorry, I forgot your pen name).

The Dragon Element

Chapter 1- Nightmares and Potions

Draco sat up in his bed, drenched in cold sweat, eyes wide.  Mentally, he shook himself.  It was just another nightmare.  He settled back into his bed and shut his eyes.  It was no use. Whenever he closed his eyes, the image surfaced from the darkness, surrounding all Draco's thoughts in fear.  He pushed his pine green blankets away and swung his legs over the side of the bed.  The stone flagstones of the dormitory floor were ice against Draco's bare feet, but he made no sound.  Silently he slipped past the beds of his sleeping classmates, becoming envious of their looks of contentment.  He slipped downstairs to the common room and sat on one of the overstuffed leather sofas set in front of the ever-blazing fire.  

He couldn't keep doing this.  Each night was the same. Trying to escape from the nightmare only to be confronted by a more horrific one as he slept.  He couldn't take it anymore.  Dark circles outlined his gray eyes, standing out against his pallid complexion.  Eventually the dance of the flames would lull him to sleep, but only for a few torturous hours before the day started again.

Draco stared into the flames.  Their hypnotizing dance was reflected in his eyes, the soft light turning his silvery hair to a pale orange.  His eyelids became heavy.  Slowly he drifted off…

"Draco, get up, you've already slept through breakfast." Draco pushed away the person who was roughly shaking him, then slowly opened his eyelids, which were swollen with fatigue.

"Go away Blaise, leave me alone."

"Fine, whatever, I was just telling you." The brunette boy tapped a stone on the wall, then walked through the hole that was created when a concealed door slid open to admit him.

Draco ran his fingers through his hair making it stand on end, then stood up himself.  He figured that if he was already late, it wouldn't hurt to take his time getting ready.  He walked up to his dormitory, took a shower, and got dressed.  Sitting on his bed he ran his fingers through his still-wet hair again, making it look as though he had been electrocuted.  Catching a glimpse of his reflection, he started to smooth it back down, but stopped leaving it half spiked.  He couldn't care less what he looked like anymore.

He rummaged through his trunk, grabbing his materials for Potions.  He couldn't stand that class, but it was the only easy grade he had.  He knew that Snape wouldn't care if he was late…Snape didn't care about anything he did.  The other houses thought it was simply favoritism, but Draco knew that his father blackmailed him.  His father wouldn't tell Voldemort of Snape's doings as long as he made Draco's life as smooth as possible.  Why he did this, Draco didn't know at all.  It seemed to him that his father cared about a dead shrub more than his own son.  

Draco left his dormitory in a stupor.  He walked the familiar hallways, not looking towards the left or right, not even flinching when he walked through the Bloody Baron.  He reached the Potions classroom twenty minutes after the first bell had rung.  

"Mr. Malfoy, I believe you are late to this class, do you have an excuse?" Snape's voice cut through the strained silence of the classroom, his voice almost as greasy as his tangled hair.

"I wasn't feeling well Professor." Draco tried to make this sound as convincing as possible, which wasn't hard, considering he honestly felt like he was an inch away from death.

"Very well, you can be paired with Miss Granger, we are making a Truth Potion." 

Hermione looked pleadingly at Harry and Ron who were paired with each other.  Ron just shrugged apologetically and Harry just looked like he was glad that for once it wasn't him.  Hermione watched Draco as he walked over, his normal domineering swagger reduced to a weak walk.  He set his books down next to the cauldron and looked into the potion. He could see his face reflected in the shimmering liquid, his features getting distorted as bubbles grew and popped.  Slowly he raised his gaze until he was looking straight into Hermione's eyes.

"Well, you haven't screwed it up yet, Mudblood." His voice was but a hoarse whisper, but Hermione glared at him as if he had shouted it for the world to hear.  It was only the thought of losing house points for Gryffindor that kept Hermione from smacking him across the face, as she had done in their 3rd year.  She forced herself to stare back into his icy blue eyes, however, her hatred slowly fizzled into puzzlement.  The permanent look of malice shining in his eyes was gone.  He looked sick, weak, and sad.  She looked away.  His hollowed, deadened look scared her.

"Um, well, we have to let it sit for about ten minutes, then we add the chive, beetle and mandrake mixture, which you can make."

"Fine." Draco started to chop pieces of chive and mandrake into tiny, almost microscopic pieces, yet all were the exact same size.  His preciseness was yet another thing that frightened Hermione.  He was always so clean, exact, in his appearance especially.  His robes were impeccably neat, his hair combed and slicked back without a single hair out of place.  Hermione glanced up at him.  His white-blonde hair was sticking up as though he had stuck his finger in an electrical socket.  (This is completely impossible though, considering that electrical things don't work on Hogwarts campus, due to all the magic in the air.)  Hermione guessed that he was simply trying out a new "style."  She had to admit though; it was a good look for him.  

"It's been about ten minutes, hasn't it?" said Draco, his voice soft, but lacking its usual silken quality.  

Hermione hadn't heard him.  She had turned her gaze towards Harry and Ron, and was mouthing something to them, which Draco could not read.  Draco also turned his gaze in that direction.  He hated those two, with a passion.  They were always so happy, even when death was looking them in the eye.  Sorrow did not seem to faze them; they were locked in their world of fluffy white bunny rabbits, peaceful and unchanging. Harry's eyes met Draco's for a second, emerald green connecting with tarnished pewter, a glare filled with hatred and contempt.  Harry broke eye contact first, ducking his head and whispering something to his ginger-headed companion, something undoubtedly cruel by their standards, but as harsh as a cotton ball to Draco's.  

Draco sighed in disgust.  It was just his luck that these three mangy Gryffindors shared the one class he had it easy in.  He glanced at his watch, the silver hands reflecting the meager light. 

"Hermione, it's been ten minutes…" Draco's whisper was once again met with silence.

"Oh, forget it," he muttered, and tipped the chopped mixture into the potion.  The solution fizzed and bubbled, turning from black to gold to clear.  A pleasing scent filled the air, covering the stench of previous potions.

Draco breathed in deeply, floating internally on the smell of unidentifiable spices mixed with a breath of cool mountain wind.  He felt himself getting light-headed, and his vision blurred.  He sensed a lightness in him, like a huge weight had been lifted off him.  His brain seemed no longer in control of his nerves; he could feel nothing, no pain, no sensation of touch whatsoever.  He tried calling out to Hermione, but his voice was lost in a sea of silence…

A/N: There's chapter one…tell me what you think! Reviews make me write faster…flames I use to fuel the fire in my brain…heh heh…Also, if you would like to be another beta for me, just say so in your review…same thing goes if you want to know when the next chapter is posted.


	2. Of Dreams and Strange Occurences

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except for the plot, don't sue, don't steal, etc., etc.

A/N: I'm not sure when I'll be posting next…3 major projects and about 5 tests. Isn't school fun?

The Dragon Element

Chapter 2- Of Dreams and Strange Occurrences

            The flames flickered on the wall, casting shadows in the already darkened room.  The fire barely pierced the darkness, radiated no warmth into the shadows beyond.  He looked about.  Without close inspection, he would have seemed just another shadow on the wall.  The smoke from the fire distorted his vision, made his eyes water.  The man sat down for a moment on a stone protruding from the dirt floor.  He drew his jet-black cloak around him, waiting in the silence, with only the company of skeletons, their hollowed sockets gazing at him with a cold fury that shall never be told.  In the distance a chilling sound pierced the already frigid air.

            The man shivered.  He had no idea why he had been summoned to this place, this tomb, where no living had set foot in its walls for years.  The letter had been written on a sheet of thick parchment, yellowed with age.  He could picture the writing in his head, the neat script flowing from the jet-black ink, the way the curl of the g's and y's underlined the words. There was no address, no greeting, and no signature.  No identifying mark on it, except for the handwriting.  It read:

I Life is ruled by secrets.  The ones you keep, the ones you share, the ones that gladden, or invoke despair. You have more than many, I'm told, so share them with me, lighten your load. These hallowed things shall soon rot your soul; purge them all, not half, but whole, or your death shall soon take its toll, with the ancient joining of the powers of earth.

_Meet me on the night of no moon at the place of the death of all those who told their secrets too late.  _I

            The man's thoughts were interrupted as another shadowed figure entered the crypt.  The flames flickered as an arctic breeze brushed past them, then rose again.  He was chilled to the bone, with cold, and a fear that seized his heart.  His quickened breath came as a cloud on the icy air.  He looked towards the newcomer.  This man was taller, his hooded head almost brushing the ceiling.  His back was facing the fire, the scanty light enrobing him in shadow.  He pulled back his hood, and the light in the pitch dark room seemed to grow.  The first man looked up into eyes of a cat, blood red.  He wanted to scream, but no sound left his lungs, and as a flash of green light struck him, no sound would ever leave him again

.

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***

            Hermione turned away from Harry and Ron. A strange smell had caught her attention.  She figured that it was just Neville and Seamus; after all, those two were horrible at potions. She glanced over at the pair, their potion was slime green and bubbling over the cauldron, but no scent was emitted from it.  It was then that she noticed that the sweet, almost perfume-like aroma was emanating from her potion.  What had gone wrong?  She had told Draco to chop the chives and Mandrake, mix it with the powdered beetles, then put it in the potion after ten minutes. Hermione covered her mouth and nose with her robes; the fumes were starting to make her dizzy.  She was about to ask Draco what he had done, but was cut short.  Draco had fallen out of his chair and was lying peacefully on the stone floor, one arm twisted in a very odd way, the other crossed on his chest.  

 Hermione dropped to her knees next to him.  He was still breathing; she could see the rising and falling of his chest.  She gently shook him, but there was no response. She sighed.  It figured that she would be stuck with the partner that passed out in the middle of class after he messed up their potion.  Hermione shook him harder.  

            "Malfoy, you had better be really passed out and not just faking…" Silence.  Hermione got up, resisting the urge to kick him in the ribs.  She was about to walk away when something grabbed her by the ankle.  She fell forward and landed on her stomach.  Hard.

            "Okay, I think I cracked a rib, and Malfoy, when I get up, I will kill you!"  Hermione's voice was low and dangerous, but nothing compared to the lethal look she was giving the pale hand wrapped around her ankle.  She pushed herself up on her elbows, then slowly sat up, pulling her legs around and clutching her stomach.  The long fingers holding her ankle released her.  She turned her icy gaze towards Draco, who was still lying on the floor, but awake and alert.

            "Serves you right Mudblood, I don't need your help." Hermione's blood boiled, but she kept her voice as sweet as honey.

            "You're right, you don't need my help, you need professionals." With that she rose from the floor, and forgetting all pretense, kicked him.

            "Tsk, tsk, Miss Granger, you should know that fighting is against Hogwarts rules.  Shall we make it…50 points from Gryffindor?"  Snape gazed scathingly at Hermione, his greasy hair falling over his face like a curtain.

            Hermione muttered something under her breath, which sounded suspiciously like, "Go screw yourself, you overgrown excuse for a weasel."  Snape however got the gist of her comment, apparently.

            "Maybe an additional 50 points and detention would better suit you."

            Hermione was about to say something, but luckily for her, the bell chose that moment to ring.  She gathered up her things and practically raced out of the dungeon, not eager to spend a moment more than she had to with the Albino Ferret and Greaseball Snape.  She met with Harry and Ron at the top of the dungeon stairs, flushed and angry.

            Ron gaped at her. "About all I can say right now is 'Wow.'"

            "Thanks Ron, but I can't believe that I did that! I don't know what got into me!"

            "Who cares? You kicked Malfoy and insulted Snape to his face.  Now that's Gryffindor bravery!" Harry grinned.

            "Yeah, but was it worth 100 points and a detention?" 

            Harry and Ron looked at each other. "Yes!"

            "Sometimes you two are just…so…"

            "So what?"

            "So, ugh." And with that Hermione disappeared around the corner, leaving a very confused Ron and Harry.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Draco tried to open his eyes, but they were just too heavy.  He could see a flickering light, casting shadows everywhere.  He couldn't feel anything; it was like he was gazing into a room from above. A man was there, cloaked in darkness, waiting for something.  He could hear a door open out of his view, and another man joined the first.  No words were exchanged.  The second man pulled something out of his pocket, a wand.  Draco could sense something around the man, like an aura of evil.  A flash of green light illuminated the room, and for a split-second, Draco saw.  The first man was slumped on the ground, a shock of black hair falling across his hidden face.  Draco turned his gaze towards the second…but he had vanished.  He knew what had happened.  He wanted to get out of there.  He closed his eyes and moved his arm.  It connected with something.  As it jerked forward, Draco wrapped his hand around it; it fell, pulling Draco with it.  

            He opened his eyes.  He was back in the dungeon.  His vision was blurred with pain.  His head was throbbing and his arm was twisted beneath his back, and a green light kept flashing before his eyes.  He dropped his hand from what he had grabbed, Hermione's ankle.  Draco could tell she was glaring at him.  He told her off.  He barely heard her response, but her kick sent sharp knives screaming through his body.  He didn't even flinch.  Snape came over, but he couldn't hear what he was said.  He sensed the anger; subconsciously wanted to curl up and hide.  The Potion's Professor face swam into clear focus as the other student's raced out of the door to their next class.  Draco sighed.  This was not going to be a good day.

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! I feel loved =)…Thanks to my wonderful betas…Jennifer, Katie, Snow-Queen…you all rock! And Blue…if you still want to beta for me, just e-mail me.  

Liza, Jen#2 (lol), katy, Amanda, Hermione18 and AngelicOne, thanks for your input! And Mander, you wanted your name on here, so here it is, lol.

Well…you know the drill…review!


	3. In the Face of Fire

Disclaimer:  I own nothing except the plot and a couple of lava lamps…ooo…lava lamps…

A/N:  Okay, so I haven't updated in a few months, but I have a good excuse! It's the teachers at my school…it's all their fault, giving me 50 projects…not my fault at all, nope.  Anywho, I've delayed you long enough…on to the story!

The Dragon Element

Chapter 3- In the Face of Fire

Draco sat down in Advanced Magical Theory after having Madam Pomfrey heal his arm.  He sighed. His body still stung from Potions, and his mind was reeling.  At least he could be thankful that the buffoons he called his friends were not in this class.  When he had chosen Magical Theory as one of his electives in 3rd year, of course they had signed up too, but last year Draco had been promoted while Crabbe and Goyle remained in the beginner's class. Only a select few were chosen to participate in the accelerated version of the course.  The students mostly consisted of 6th and 7th years; the only other 5th year Draco was familiar with was Hermione Granger. She sat by the window; her hair shining burnished gold in the growing light of midday. Draco couldn't help but staring.  The light gave her a shimmering halo and the aura of an angel.  He shifted his gaze to the blackboard.  It was filled with odd symbols, some sort of unfamiliar runic language.  Draco could decipher the words "earth" and "water," the rest were unknown to him.  Hermione was looking at the board as well; her expression was arranged as comprehension mixed with puzzlement. 

The door to the classroom opened slowly, and a petite witch walked in.  Her brown hair was gathered into a bun, which sat at the nape of her neck.  She had silvery robes that matched the frames of her oval glasses. She walked to the board and started to write in neat block lettering: "Professor Kenton."

"Good morning class.  As you can see, my name is Professor Kenton, and I will be filling in for Professor Fletcher.  She has had a family emergency and will probably be gone for several months."  

Draco couldn't help but silently cheer.  Professor Fletcher had hated him. She had gone to school with his father, who had made her life a living hell. Apparently, she wanted to get revenge by treating Draco like a dead flobberworm.  Draco had lost numerous points and gained several detentions, just by sitting quietly and paying attention.  

            Professor Kenton's clipped accent broke through his train of thought. 

            "Would you all please get out a quill and parchment, and begin copying down these symbols.  In about ten minutes, we will begin discussing how these will relate to our new course of study."  

            Draco removed his quill and a roll of parchment from his bag, and began carefully copying the complex signs.  He had barely finished before Professor Kenton called for them to stop.

            "Does anybody know what you just copied?" she asked.  To nobody's surprise, Hermione's hand was raised in the air.  "Yes, Miss…?"

            "Miss Granger, professor.  What we just copied were notes on the preparation for a spell, using the elements earth and water."

            "Very good.  Take 5 points for your house.  As Miss Granger just stated, those were indeed preparations for a spell, using elemental magic.  Elemental magic is quite different from the magic you are used to.  Does anybody have any ideas why?"

            Draco thought for a moment.  He had heard of elemental magic before. Those who could use it were highly powerful, and very rare.  Draco remembered his father casting a spell, he knew somehow it was to create a wall of fire, but why, he couldn't quite fathom at the time.  He supposed it was just another ward to put around their mansion, but now he realized that it was a form of protection for something much different. 

He was maybe four at the time.  He watched from the doorway as his father chanted a spell.  The words were beautiful and mysterious, yet were spoken cruel and cold, like ice. He stood in front of a fireplace, his back towards Draco.  He made a few simple gestures, and turned around, the empty blackness illuminated by a ball of white flames.  His father smiled triumphantly for a moment, then recoiled. The flames grew, then vanished, but not before leaving him burnt and bleeding.  His arm was blackened by ash, the red blood running freely. Draco recalled his father swearing after the spell had failed.  He started to throw things, like pieces of crystal, dashing them into the stone wall in his painful fury.  Then he turned his eyes upon Draco.  They were cold, empty.  Fathomless, yet hungry. He had grabbed Draco around the arm, his icy fingers leaving black and blue marks on his pale skin. 

_            "What were you doing, boy?"_

_            "Nothing, father."_

_            "Liar.  Now, tell me the truth! What were you doing?" Draco winced as the grip tightened around his wrist and as nails dug half-moon imprints into his arm._

_            "I wasn't doing anything."  Draco's blue eyes widened, his innocent tone shaking with fright._

_            "You lie, and in this house, liars get punished…" He smiled, almost demonically.  If he turned that gaze on anyone else, they would have most likely have run under the nearest piece of furniture, cowering like they were about to get the Dementor's Kiss, but Draco did not cringe or shy away, he simply looked into his father's face, his own void of all emotion._

_            "I have done nothing, father." Draco turned to leave, but Lucius had grabbed him again._

_            "I don't like your tone, boy.  Maybe the Cruciatus Curse will teach you some manners?"_

_            Draco tried to pull away from him, but Lucius had already grabbed his wand and shouted the curse.  It hit Draco in the back with the force of a cannonball, the pain quickly spreading to engulf him.  He could feel his blood boiling; it was pounding in his ears and head.  He felt as though a pillow was being pressed over his face, he couldn't breathe; he was drowning in pain.  His bones felt like they were splintering into millions of tiny shards, poking his flesh.  He dimly knew that he had dropped to his knees, but he refused to scream.  The pain kept coming in fresh waves, he suspected his father kept renewing the curse.  It felt as though he was being stabbed, strangled, suffocated and drowned all at the same time, but Draco could not make a sound.  He closed his eyes tightly, knowing that all he had to do was scream, and it would be over, but still he would not surrender.  The curse hit him again, but all of the sudden, it disappeared.  Draco opened his eyes, squinting through the dimness.  He could discern two figures; his mother was trying to wrestle the wand away from Lucius.   He looked up at her, and their eyes met for a moment._

_            Her mouth formed the words, "Go, go now!" and her eyes accented her plead.  Draco pulled himself from the ground and left as fast as he could manage but not before his mother collapsed into tears._

Draco shook his head.  Of all his memories he hated that one the most.  He could feel the tears rising in his eyes, threatening to fall.  He bent down in his seat and wiped his face with his robes, on the pretense of picking up a quill.  Thankfully, nobody had noticed his trip from reality.  Professor Kenton was still discussing elemental magic, and the class appeared to be listening, completely fascinated.

            "Mr. Malfoy, do you know why elemental magic differs from conventional magic?"

            Draco thought for a moment.  "Well, conventional magic requires a wand to focus the magic.  In elemental magic, the spell caster simply uses a form of the element that they are using in their spell to help channel and focus the spell.  Also, only certain wizards and witches can perform elemental magic, Sorcerers, I think.  Those who aren't Sorcerers who try and use elemental magic can't get it to work, or they'll injure themselves."

            "Very good, 10 points to Slytherin, it looks like.  Have you studied elemental magic before, Mr. Malfoy?"

            Draco looked slightly embarrassed. "Er… I read a book once about it, that's all."

            "That should help you with tonight's homework.  I would like everyone to write a 3-foot long essay about some form of elemental magic.  It can be about a particular Sorcerer, the elements themselves, a certain spell, anything. You are dismissed."

Draco gathered his things and made his way towards the door, careful to avoid the other students, Hermione in particular.  He chanced a glance at her during class.  He thought she seemed rather impressed with his knowledge of elemental magic, but he couldn't quite tell.  Not that he cared what the stupid Mudblood thought, that's all she was, a Mudblood, not worth even thinking of.  A few seconds later, he arrived at the Great Hall; surprised that he had no idea how he had gotten there.  He sat down at the Slytherin table, and almost immediately after, Crabbe and Goyle sat down on either side of him.  He contemplated skipping lunch and going straight to the dormitory for the rest of the day, but after missing breakfast, Draco was starving, so he resigned himself to another lunch with only them for company.

~~

Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table, after finding Harry and Ron.  They were chatting about how Divination had been another nightmare. Apparently Professor Trelawney had knocked over the crystal ball they were looking at after she saw Harry's death, again.

"I mean, there's only so many times I can die, I must be a medical miracle right now, either that or the old bat's trying to psychologically poison me so one day I just try and swallow a knife or something."

"Swallow a knife, Harry? What's wrong with the classics? Jumping off a cliff or something, perhaps."

"Too overdone, if that idiot is going to drive me to kill myself, I at least want to go out in style."

Hermione sighed.  "Honestly Harry, if you want to commit suicide "in style" why don't you go and choke yourself on a sequined dress or something? Swallow a knife my -"

"A sequined dress Hermione? I thought those things went out _ages_ ago," Ron laughed.

"I'm so sorry Ron, of course you're right, how could I have ever been so stupid?" Hermione said, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Hermione, are you all right?" Harry asked, "I mean, you're acting really strange."

She sighed again. "I'm not sure anymore, I guess I'm just stressed because all this work is getting to me, I mean I have regular homework, extra studying, OWL practice papers –"

"Hermione, you're starting to overwork yourself again.  How about tonight we go to Hogsmeade, and I'll get you some butterbeer."

"That's nice, get me drunk," she laughed.

"Hey, it will make you relax a little," said Ron.

"Okay then, ton -" As she spoke, an owl dropped a letter into her plate of Yorkshire pudding.  She wiped it off and opened it, laying the message flat on the table.

Your detention will take place at 9 o'clock tonight in the trophy room.  Your absence from this detention will result in a loss of 100 points for Gryffindor, and a month's worth of detention. Signed, Professor S. Snape 

            "Well," Hermione said, folding up the note, "that bastard has to ruin everything."

            Harry smiled.  "Cheers, Hermione."

A/N: There's the long awaited chapter 3.  By the way, there seems to be something wrong with the italics…the whole flashback, and the note to Hermione are supposed to be in italics. Oh well. Please tell me what you think by clicking that lovely purple (or whatever color it is) button down at the bottom of the page.  I love reviews; they make me want to write more!  Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter, and thanks to my beta readers, once again.  In the next chapter: detention! Woohoo…that will be interesting…so, if you would like to read it, review!


End file.
